I have read some instances where the Battery Charger for the DCS4xx series "shuts-Down" prematurely when charging battery packs and does not bring them to full charge. I recently picked up a DCS420c and use a 14v 0.75amp charger with it. Kodak supplied the pinout for the multi-purpose connector. It was quite easy. So before assuming the pack is dead, it might be worth lokking at useing a constant current charger. I charged mine to full capacity in 3-hours.

I will upload the .pdf to my site and post a link. Or you can Email suypport at Kodak.

In general, I think we should download and post drivers and other information on these old cameras before it disappears. I found drivers for my DCS200 on someones personal site as Kodak no longer supples them.

Brian Sweeney wrote:
In general, I think we should download and post drivers and other information on these old cameras before it disappears. I found drivers for my DCS200 on someones personal site as Kodak no longer supples them.

That's probably a good idea.

Kodak support is excellent, but there's obviously a limit for how long they will support old models. For example, the DCS 100 and 200 are not even listed under Discontinued models.

Still, you should be able to get drivers and manuals for every DCS camera ever made, by writing directly to kprodigital@kodak.com

The charger is actually inside the camera on the 400 series. The thing you plug in is just a DC power supply. The internal charging control function is operated by the camera and it's firmware.

The issue where the charging ended early is, I think, caused by a temperature sensing device in the the battery pack itself telling the camera that it was warmer than it actually was. NiMH cell charging is primarily controlled by monitoring the temperature rise.

The pack is pretty simply rebuilt, and one could use better cells these days, and that would be worthwhile. Back when I had my 460c, I had rebuilt the pack fairly soon after acquiring the thing.

Brian Sweeney wrote:This is the Pinout for the Multipurpose 7-pin DIN connector on the DCS420, DCS410, and DCS460 camera. I was able to charge the batteries using a 14v (DC) 0.75AMP charger with this diagram.

From my measurements the DC power is supplied through pins 6 an 7. I forgot which one is which but the GND is also connected to the metal edge of the plug so with an ohm meter you should be able to identify which one is GND which one is +. The DCS needs 14V at the power supply should be able to delived 2A.

Hooray!! My DCS 420 is arriving soon, maybe now I can make a power supply! If anybody can validate this info or help me find the right DIN plug I would be REALLY grateful.

Ok. I have a beautiful DCS 420 - bought as working - but no charger. I've discovered that the 7 pin Din plug on the Kodak is not standard, but I have cut off surplus pins from an 8 pin plug and it now fits, using just pins 7 and 8. I've put a multimeter and one pin is connected to the metal outer part of the socket (as the old advice said it would)and the other registers 4k ohms resistance (battery circuit?). Therefore one pin is ground and the other (4k resistance one) is postive, right? Sooo - do i now go ahead and hook up 15v DC 2A power to the 2 pins? I'm sure it's OK but I just got nervous? Anybody care to hold my hand? Anybody done this before? Cheers!